Animal Writings

The Loudoun County, Virginia Board of Supervisors voted to cancel an anti-bullying program in schools because they felt it was "pro-gay."

I'll let that one sink in for a moment.

I haven't seen the curricula, but just for argument's sake let's say it focused 100 percent on not picking on gays or the children of gay parents. That still wouldn't be pro-gay. It would, however, be pro-nice and pro-civil.

It's a shame that so many gays, especially during the difficult period of adolescence, are forced to suffer in silence because they have to bottle up their expressions of love, because they're treated as outcasts, abnormal, deviants, and threats. Anti-gay groups often point to increased rates of emotional problems in gays as proof that homosexuality is a dangerous "lifestyle." But they fail to realize that they cause those emotional problems through their meanness and ostracizing.

Most likely the anti-bullying program teaches students that it's not nice to gang up on anyone, especially those who are weaker or don't fit in. Victims of bullying may be deeply hurt by the experience and carry emotional scars for years. A substantial portion of their childhood may be ruined. If, at an early age, we can learn to respect others, control our anger, and be helpful rather than hurtful, we will have a more peaceful world. Animals will benefit, too. Bullies always pick weaker victims, and animals are, in almost every case, the weakest and most vulnerable among us.

A reasonable initiative to promote friendship and respect, which has had proven results in other jurisdictions, was canceled by homophobia.